Programs We Have Funded So Far This Year

July 3, 2020

Over the first half of this year, we, along with so many others, have been dealing with the ramifications associated with the coronavirus on the world’s poor. Whereas in the past much of our funding went to skills-based programs for women and basic education for children, with schools closed along with the infrastructure that serves the world, millions have been left without any means to earn their daily wages and acquire food for themselves and their families. As a result, TFI has been busy just trying to keep those in extreme poverty alive, particularly children. Thanks to the generosity of our donors, here below are some of the programs we have funded since the beginning of this most difficult year.

Breeze of Hope Foundation (Bolivia)

Breeze of Hope Foundation is a center for child survivors of sexual violence in Bolivia. Our recent grant was to help them continue providing services despite Bolivia’s strict lockdown and have the funds necessary to take care of the little ones at the center. Ordinarily, they provide free legal, social, and psychological services for young girls who are attempting to overcome an abusive home life.

Landmine Relief Fund (Cambodia)

We sent funds to a project in Cambodia that does landmine removal and builds schools for impoverished children after landmines are cleared. They, too, were seeking help for all those they serve, most of whom work in and around Siem Reap in the tourist service industry. With no travel and Siem Reap shut down, none of them have any money for food. Right now it is food that many of the world’s poor need most.

Orthopedic Training Centre (Ghana)

The Orthopedic Training Centre in Ghana helps people, especially children, with disabilities to live independent and productive lives. This is a big problem in the developing world, where such conditions almost always result in a life of poverty. The funds we sent them were to help keep their programs running successfully during this unprecedented time. We will also try to send them additional funds to make needed capital improvements.

VARAS (Ghana)

We sent funds to VARAS to help them keep their programs going for people living in rural Ghana. This grant is helping children to return to school and continue their education despite the setbacks of the past few months due to the COVID-19 lockdowns.

SevaChild International (India)

SevaChild manages one of India’s fastest growing health networks which specializes in providing life-sustaining micronutrients and food in India’s poorest communities. With a grant from our new Dr. Eugene P. Mohan Medical Assistance Fund, we are providing food for 250 families for the next month.

St. Vincent’s Children of Kibera (Kenya)

We have sent funds to St. Vincent’s orphanage and school in Kenya to purchase food for 180 families of the children who attend St. Vincent’s. These families live in the Kibera slum, one of the largest slums in the world, and as a result of a government lockdown they have not been able to access food. Hopefully these funds will help get them through this period until the children can return and continue their education.

One Heart World-Wide (Nepal)

Our grant to One Heart World-Wide in Nepal was used to buy personal protective equipment (PPE) for the skilled birth attendants who are working at birthing centers in the most remote areas of the country. These frontline workers, like healthcare workers around the world, are saving lives at risk to their own. This grant to purchase PPE was made possible through our Dr. Eugene P. Mohan Medical Assistance Fund.

Hogar de le Esperanza “Mama Victoria” (Peru)

Mama Victoria is a shelter for battered women and their children in Lima, Peru. Recently, they had to resort to eating their chickens when markets closed, and they could not sell their eggs or make their chocolate candies, which provided them with the income they needed to support themselves. TFI made an emergency grant to make sure that the women and children there were cared for during this lockdown.

Project PEARLS (The Philippines)

Early on in this pandemic, we discovered that Project PEARLS in the Philippines needed help getting food and educational materials to 400 children and families living in an industrial dump site just outside Manila. After some investigation as to the extent of the situation, TFI, along with one of our partners, made several grants to relieve at least some of the suffering there. We continue to monitor the situation.

Angels Care School (Uganda)

This photo shows members of this refugee community in Uganda coming to pick up food and supplies prepared by Angels Care School. Deliveries were also made by their staff to the elderly and disabled who were unable to come to the distribution site. A grant from TFI provided these aid packages to families in this area, and we also provided additional funds to finish work on a health clinic that will be opening there soon thanks to our Dr. Eugene P. Mohan Medical Assistance Fund.

Arlington Academy of Hope (Uganda)

The Arlington Academy of Hope works in rural communities in eastern Uganda to improve the lives of the children who live there through proven poverty alleviation strategies such as education and healthcare. We sent them some funds to provide much-needed food and supplies for those they serve, for as countries lock down and borders close, food scarcity grows and prices rise.

Friends of Orphans (Uganda)

Friends of Orphans helps former child soldiers and abductees through housing, education, and programs that provide them with psychological counseling that helps them overcome the trauma they have experienced, all in an effort to have them become productive members of society. We sent them some funds to help them provide food and care services for the children at their camp during this difficult time.

Rona Foundation (Uganda)

The Rona Foundation cares for widows and orphans, focusing on education, nutrition, and general care, as well as responding to the injustice which favors men over women in their country. We helped fund them for the first time this year in order to help them continue their programs and provide aid to the mothers, grandmothers, and children that they serve in their community.

Martin de Porres House of Hospitality (USA)

Martin de Porres is a soup kitchen in San Francisco which normally serves nutritious meals at communal tables in their outdoor space to homeless or near-homeless individuals. Because of the current shelter in place orders, they have only been able to provide meals to go. Buying paper products, utensils, and to-go containers has caused a strain on their budget. We sent them funds to keep their program running during this difficult time. Some years ago, we took the Dalai Lama to have lunch with this community. (See photo.) It was a great day.

Furthermore, we have continued to sponsor our students in Africa and India through our Eric L. Brandenburg Children’s Fund, and we have now begun the work of helping those in need here in the United States through our new Bridge Fund. The truth is that the pain the world is experiencing is felt by both rich and poor countries alike.

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